Monday, January 30, 2017

We constantly hear that if our country truly cared we would do this and do that. The people that make these arguments often don't care enough to do anything on their own. Instead, their idea of "caring" is to make others pay for things that they want, but those who pay, don't want. In other words, caring requires no sacrifice of your own. It requires sacrifice by those who don't agree with you.

The "illegal immigrant" debate has this same strange dichotomy. Those urging increasing "refugee immigrants" from war-torn countries make sure that when these immigrants arrive in Europe and the US, they are placed far, far away from themselves. In the US, these "refugee immigrants" are re-located almost exclusively in "red" states in the midwest and primarily in small towns. Virtually none of these immigrants are initially located in "sanctuary cities." Those advocating increasing refugee immigration make sure that these new immigrants do not live in their neighborhoods. Our former president relocated himself far, far away from any communities where these "refugee" immigrants are likely to end up.

Many small communities in the US and Europe are now saddled with hundreds of thousands of newly arrived immigrants who don't speak their language, abhor their culture, and have little or no interest in adopting their values. The elites who push these policies have almost none of these folks in their neighborhood, so they are generally unaffected. That's why they don't really care about hordes of refugee immigrants coming into the country. Folks who push these policies will never suffer the costs and trauma of dealing with their relocation. So, why not have more, they say.

Ditto for spending money on grandiose projects that "help" poor people. Those pushing these, mostly failing, projects are asking taxpayers to fund these projects. Why don't the supporters fund them on their own. They claim that most Americans agree with them. So, why don't the folks that agree with these projects pay for them on their own, instead of requiring those who disagree to pay for them.

How is it charitable to require the guy down the street to fund your pet projects? How is it humane to bring in refugees, but relocate them in poorest, smallest communities in your country, but far, far away from yourself and your family?

Friday, January 27, 2017

"Arrogance." A single word encapsulates the problem with the European Union.

What Brexit and the Trump revolution have in common is that they are both a response to arrogance by the ruling elites. The wealthy and the elite have no respect for the average citizens in Europe or in the United State and have consistently ignored their interests for more than a generation. It is clear from reading the NY Times or the Washington Post that this lack of respect continues.

The European Union and the Euro were terrific ideas and should have succeeded. Both concepts promised improved economic performance for Europe and its citizenry. So, what went wrong. Two things went wrong.

First, the elites decided that the Greece debt should be prolonged and enlarged. A simple bankruptcy would have resolved the Greek financial crisis relatively painlessly. But, the elites would have none of it. Merkel and Sarcozy arrogantly imposed austerity on Greece in exchange for bailing out the hedge funds that owned Greek debt. Now the situation in Greece is a disaster and the financial health of Germany and France is much, much weaker because of their underwriting of Greek debt. Everyone has lost, thanks to the arrogance of the elitists.

Second, the EU arbitrarily admitted millions of immigrants from cultures that despise western society and whose communities are the source of terrorists and terrorist agitations. These millions were dumped unceremoniously on community after community throughout Europe. This was the final straw for Britain.

The elitists never had to contend with immigrants whose culture has little or no respect for women or children, because the immigrants are always placed far from the homes and communities of the elitists. Average Brits were left to contend with the enormous political and cultural battles that hordes of immigrants posed. But the elite leaders could return comfortably to their leafy neighborhoods, cruising comfortably in the limousines. Average folks were left to contend with the real problems created by the elites.

A similar dynamic has taken place in the United States. The vast bulk of terrorist-infested immigrant groups were placed in small mid-western towns far from the comfortable wealthy suburbs of the elitists. Meanwhile, of course, the elitists castigated the culture and the dreams of average Americans from their limousines and jets.

Enough is enough. So, two good ideas -- the European Union and Euro -- will die because of the arrogance of the elites.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Remember what the media (including Paul Krugman) said would happen if the Brits left the European Union? Brexit would destroy the British economy. Right?

So, what happened?

The fastest growing economy in the developed world post-Brexit is, in fact, the United Kingdom. They clocked in at an annual growth rate of 2.4 percent, according to numbers released yesterday. Their stock market has been booming since Brexit and the pound is on a roll.

So, what's not to like?

Where are the Brexit critics these days? They have moved on to other hysteria.

Friday, January 20, 2017

The shackles are coming off of the American economy. The once dynamic US economy is going to be able to breathe again.

The Obama nightmare is over. Small businesses will be free to expand, make capital commitments, borrow money, and hire employees. These are things that have been almost impossible during the last eight years. The pitiful economic growth since 2009, especially compared to all other economic recoveries in American history, has left most Americans feeling distressed about their economic future.

Not so, of course, for bureaucrats, elitists in academe and elsewhere, and the wealthy limousine left. These folks thrived at the expense of the taxpayer during that past eight years. That will be ending, at last.

Some professors at the University of Virginia announced this week that they were not going to teach their classes on Friday in protest of the Trump inauguration. This attitude is typical of the elite. They get to choose when they want to work and when they don't want to work, without any threat of losing their job. These people live in a protected bubble and have nothing but contempt for folks that actually work for a living and don't get to pick and choose every day whether or not they want to do their job.

The arrogance of the elite is breath-taking. But that arrogance is about to get its come-uppance. The average American is finally going to have a chance again, thanks to the incoming administration. Freedom and prosperity is on the way. It is morning in America.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

True Trump fans think that all of his bloopers are actually a good thing. They point to the war on political correctness as a breath of fresh air. But is it?

During the campaign, Trump's late night tweeting was mostly an embarrassment. The polls have consistently shown that the public reacts negatively to the Trump tweets. So why is there a sense out there that the Trump bizarre behavior is working?

Overshadowing Trump's behavior is the public's anger at the over-regulated, over-taxed and over-politicized world that we now live in. Obama and the democrats have made life unbearable for many Americans and they rally to Trump -- like him or not -- as an alternative to the progressive(?) decline of the country that they live in.

There is no question that America is a far different country than it was a few decades ago. Economic opportunities have eroded for average Americans, though the wealthy and elitist bureaucrats have thrived. This is what drives Trump's continued strength, even though his behavior is appalling. It also explains why the wealthy and comfortable are contemptible of the incoming Trump administration.

If you've done well under Obama, it is hard to relate to those who haven't. If you live in academia, or in the government bureaucracy, or are incredibly wealthy, then life has been great. If you don't fit those categories, life has become increasingly more difficult.

It isn't that people like Trump. A majority of Americans dislike Trump. But they are tired of being treated as if they don't matter by the Obama-Clinton-Buffett-Soros-Streep elites. So, Trump has become the default choice for those who don't live in the "protected" classes.

The public schools are a disaster for most Americans. Job opportunities are pitifully inadequate for most Americans. Health insurance and health care costs have exploded under Obama. Economic growth is half what it has normally been in prior years (and a quarter of that under prior economic recoveries from recessions) under Obama.

Terrorist attacks within the US have become a routine reality, though Obama seems oblivious to it. The Middle East has become the playground of Russia and Iran with the US holding very little influence. Russia and China have become much, much more aggressive and North Korea is building a missile system that will soon be able to nuke Los Angeles.

Thousands upon thousands of immigrants, legal and illegal, many of whom despise America and its institutions are now walking the streets of many American small towns, demanding services, providing a breeding ground for domestic terrorism, and objecting to an American culture that treats women as full-fledged citizens. City upon city has agreed to protect criminals that are in the country illegally, providing "sanctuary" and tax dollars for folks who have violated American laws. If you are not here illegally, you get no such protection. You must be here illegally to get these benefits.

Is it any wonder that almost anyone looks better to the average Americans than the democrats?

Choosing to back Donald Trump, in spite of his behavior, becomes the only chance left for many Americans who believe that what once was the "City on the Hill" and "The Land of Opportunity" is fast becoming little more than a playground for the affluent and the protected bureaucrats and elitists.

Meanwhile, the elitists and the wealthy increasingly view the average American as beneath them and not worthy of their time or interest.

The divisiveness is America is based upon real issues, not on personalities. Trump is winning on the issues, not on his personality.

Monday, January 16, 2017

For the first time in American history, prominent members of one of the two major political parties are boycotting the inauguration of the newly elected US president. I guess it shouldn't be much of a surprise. The scorched earth policy of Barrack Obama and key democrats continues apace. "Do unto others....as you would never wish them to do to you" appears to be the motto of the defeated and angry democrats. Not many statesmen in this crowd of losers.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

For eight years, Barrack Obama and the elites in the Democratic Party and the Media have lorded it over the average American. Sitting back in their comfortable homes in government, in academia, and in the Media, the elitists avoided any contact with the poor, the middle class, minorities, the unemployed, the business community, and the average American. Their contempt for these groups has been ever-present.

Now, the empire strikes back. The unlikely leader of the citizen revolt is none other than billionaire Donald Trump. Surprisingly, Trump's cabinet picks are devotees of free markets and are largely drawn from the pool of successful American business men and women. Barrack Obama's cabinet was full of elitist hacks, who had spent hardly a moment in the private sector. Obama's inner circle were largely Ivy League elitists and hacks who despise the average American -- Hillary's deplorables.

It must be galling for the elites to lose out to beer drinking, truck driving Americans, most of whom have an annual income that is less than the monthly stipend that government (that is, the taxpayer) provides for the elitists in the bureaucracy. From their leafy neighborhoods in Washington DC, the elitists opine on what is best for folks in Nebraska and Iowa. After all, the elitists are not elitists for nothing.

January 20th will be a great day for America, but a tragic one for the elitist. You can see the elitists singing the blues daily as we approach the end of their hegemony over the average American.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

The pathetic figure of an angry Barrack Obama heaping as much dirt through lies and inuendo upon the President-elect is without precedent in American history. Obama is doing everything in his waning power to discredit America's 45th President.

The main effect of the Obama actions is to leave a lasting legacy of hatred, dishonesty, and sour grapes. The failed Obama presidency was a natural outcome of electing someone armed with little more than rhetorical skills to the highest office. Fortunately, the US has term limits. Time is running out on this hateful, incompetent administration. The end cannot come soon enough.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Having been completely discredited, the Democratic Party and the Media have not given up in their effort to damage the US and its interest both domestically and globally. Inventing fake stories and finding phantom actors in an effort to pretend that they really won an election that they lost overwhelming, the left and the media thunder on.

Tune in to CNN or MSNBC if you want to see a group of people that despise America and despise Americans. Their heroes are dictators around the world -- Iran, Cuba, for example and their enemies are Americans, that they see as "deplorables," racists, bigots and on and on.

They don't believe in the nation's laws or in its history. They see America as the evil empire and they see Ayatollah and the Castro brothers as their friends and soul brothers. American police are the enemy to this crowd, but those who gun down police should be understood and excused, according to the media and the Democratic Party.

These folks have crossed the line from debate to pure, unadulterated hatred for the US and its values of freedom. They prefer dictatorships and elite rule, especially if they are in power. This is what the Democratic Party and its handmaiden, the media, have become. No wonder their election victories are few and far between and they have taken to hatred, villification, dishonesty and to the streets with their views that no longer have much in common with American traditions of freedom and respect for law and for individuals.

The Democratic Party and the Media are increasingly a very small echo chamber with little relevance for the average American.

What's next?--revolution? dictatorship? The Greek economy is near collapse. Today's article in the Wall Street Journal by Nektaria Stamouli describes the plight of the formerly middle class Greek families. They have run out of money. Done.

All of this was completely unnecessary. When Greek public debt became un-payable six years ago, they should have simply defaulted. Then some kind of workout with their creditors could have been put in place and their debt would have been totally extinguished. The losers? Those who were foolish enough to make loans to Greece. They deserved to lose. Unfortunately, they didn't lose.

Enter -- Angela Merkel. She used Germany's public credit to force a bailout of Greek creditors -- an absurdly stupid and callous move. Now the German economy is saddled with un-payable debt and the Greek economy has collapsed, exactly what one would expect from the Merkel bailout. No surprises here. Just more bureacratic stupidity by politicians who know little or no economics.

The Eurozone has no hope as long as each country is presumed to bailout each other country. It's as if the US were poised to bailout Illinois, New York and California, when their inevitable bankruptcy appears on horizon. Fortunately, the US states will just go bankrupt without a bailout and the US will survive, unlike the Eurozone. The problem is not that Europe did not properly integrate. The problem is that Eurozone assumed member country debts. Such a policy doomed the Eurozone just as surely as it doomed Greece and will doom Spain and Italy in time.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Walter Shaub, the head of the "Office of Government Ethics" said yesterday that Donald Trump's plans for removing himself from his businesses is "wholly inadequate." This is completely ridiculous.

What Shaub and the Democrats would really like to have is a law that says that anyone who is a successful business person should not be permitted to hold high office. That's what they really mean.

Notice that Hillary Clinton's regular use of her office at the State Department to line her pockets and that of her foundation by trading American influence for cold, hard cash never bothered Walter Shaub or his Democratic cronies. That was A-Okay. But for a businessman to keep his business running. That is not A-Okay.

So, maybe if Trump just sold influence to foreign countries and received cash in direct payment, as Clinton did, Shaub would relax as he did during the Clinton cash-grab.

What an absurdity.

The right answer is full disclosure.

Full disclosure solves all problems and would have solved the obvious Clinton conflict of interest. (Now we know the real reason for the private server used by Hillary Clinton. It made it easier to hide the sale of US government influence for cash). Instead, hiding behind partisan agencies, such as the "Office of Government Ethics," just turns conflict of interest policy into a partisan rule that prohibits successful business folks from holding higher office.

No one holding high political office should have to divest of anything. They should not be required to set up blind trusts either. They should merely have to fully disclose any transactions of significance while in office. That's it. If the voters don't like it, they can throw the bums out (as they implicitly did last November). Having bureaucrats weigh in on this is ridiculous. Bureaucrats don't understand successful people and would prefer that successful people would be unsuccessful people.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Apparently the US intelligence services have no problem providing daily information to members of the news media, but refuse to provide the same information to the President-elect and to the Congress. Daily, these leaks are presented as "news" stories in the New York Times and the Washington Post. This strikes me as far more serious than anything alleged about Russia.

US intelligence agencies should not be compromising their own work by daily communication, totally unauthorized and completely illegal, with members of the media -- none of whom have security clearances.

Hopefully, Trump will bring a big broom to the US intelligence agencies, who now seem to be little more than an arm of the Democratic Party. Obama and Clinton should be ashamed of their role in all of this. More than anything related to the Russians, the Obama-Clinton effort to tarnish the incoming Trump Administration, by illegal and unauthorized leaks to their pals in the press, poses the real threat to our country.

The long Obama goodbye is getting tiresome. Within a few days, free markets are going to begin to be re-introduced into the American economy and the bureaucratic autocracy of the Obama years is finally, finally coming to an end.

The elites are horrified. No longer will they be able to lord it over the average American, who they feel nothing but contempt for. The wealthy elitists, protected bureaucrats, Hollywood egomaniacs are finally going to be pushed aside so that the average American can breathe again.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

If the Obama Administration incompetence had not been sufficiently displayed for all the world, the release this week of the "intelligence" on Russian hacking of the election left no doubt that the Obama folks haven't got a clue.

Where has Obama been? Do they think they are not going to get hacked? What world do they live in?

Instead of whining about Russian hacking, how about beefing up US defenses. No amount of whining is going to make a bit of difference. (The DNC itself made no effort to protect itself, even after the intelligence services warned them. They are equally as stupid as the Obama Administration).

The not-so-subtle effort to pin so-called Russian hacking on Donald Trump is ludicrous.

Two more weeks and this ridiculous and embarrassing administration will finally come to an end. I can't wait. Hopefully, Trump will bring a big broom.

Friday, January 6, 2017

So how hard is it to replace Obamacare? In actual fact, replacing Obamacare with a free market in health care is absurdly trivial. All that needs to be done is eliminate each and every mandate imposed by Obamacare. Done.

What about folks with "pre-existing" conditions? Such folks can enter a high-risk insurance pool that is partially subsidized. (That's how auto insurance is handled). Folks who choose not to get health care insurance at all can take a number and wait their turn. At some point, folks have to show enough initiative to do something. Absent that, it is unlikely the health care system can do them much good anyway.

How about insurance companies dropping coverage? Insurance companies can sell two kinds of policies -- those that can drop coverage and those that can't. Obviously, these kinds of policies will have different prices, as they should. If you want a policy that cannot drop coverage, then pay for it.

Meanwhile, folks should buy whatever insurance policies that they want to buy. Period. There should be no minimum requirements for health care insurance, which is the case with auto insurance (except for liability coverage for which there is no analogue in health care insurance).

Should a hospital be required to take on anyone who comes in the door? Absolutely not, A private hospital should be run on profitable basis. The hospital should decide on its own whether or not to take someone in who cannot pay and the hospital and staff should not be liable for any mistakes or problems with the care provided to non-paying patients.

If you want hospitals to take in all comers, then build hospitals for that specific purpose. Don't destroy private hospitals by insisting that they take all comers.

Meanwhile medicare should be replaced by health insurance vouchers and get the government out of that business as well.

If you want an industry to provide quality and low prices, put the industry in a free market. If you want incompetence, corruption, poor service and high prices, turn it over to the government.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

The evil Russians, apparently, hacked the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Shame on them. Imagine one country trying to hack another!

And look at the evil things the Russians did. They exposed the fact that the news media was totally linked to the Clinton campaign and their reporting was simply an arm of that campaign. No one denies this. The evil Russians exposed the truth of the hypocritical US press. Is the suggestion that voters would be better off believing something that wasn't true?

What else did the evil Russians do? They exposed that the DNC was doing everything in their power to defeat Bernie Sanders and nominate Hillary Clinton. It turns out that was true also. I suppose the suggestion is that Democrats and other voters would be better off believing something else -- that was patently false -- that the DNC was neutral between Clinton and Sanders.

So, the argument apparently is that voters in America would have been better off believing lies than learning the truth. Interesting argument.

Meanwhile, is there someone who doesn't believe that the US, China, Russia and every other major country aren't trying to hack each other every day? Who out there doesn't believes that? Who believes that hacking will stop? So, why all the nonsense.

If you don't like the hacking, beef up your security and quit bellyaching. Maybe voters, having the truth at their disposal, are better informed than believing the Clinton-DNC-AmericanPress pack of lies. Lies that Wikileaks exposed them for what they are.

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

I am a regular reader of the NY Times and the Washington Post -- alas! Online, the headlines daily are frightening. It seems, according to these venerated newspapers, that the election of Donald Trump is the single worst thing that ever happened to the American republic. Why? Because Trump has the effrontery to suggest that average Americans should have more control over their own lives.

The idea that individuals should be free to decide for themselves is apparently a truly frightening prospect, according to the Times and WAPO. As Hillary Clinton noted time and again, the average American is a racist, a bigot, a deplorable. Why should you let people like that control their own lives?

If you believe in freedom, then you must accept the proposition that people should be free to make their own mistakes. That people make mistakes is not a call for government action. People learn. But they won't learn if government is always looking over their shoulder and making decisions for them. That simple idea -- that ordinary Americans should have the freedom to make their own mistakes -- is the cornerstone for a free society. That idea makes the Times and WAPO apoplectic.

According to the Times and WAPO, only the elite (and, of course, they include themselves) know what's best. That's why it did not bother them that the Democratic Party regularly colludes with key figures in the media to present a united front in opposition to the Republican Party. This is the substance of the Wikileaks from the DNC. The press is covertly and explicitly aiding one political party over another. Shame on the evil Wikileaks folks for exposing the truth, say the Times and WAPO.

When you and only you know the the correct path, then why have freedom and democracy? That is esentially the argument presented by the NY Times and the Washington Post. Thus, the Trump election upsets this simple paradigm. How can this intruder question the received wisdom?

In order to combat the Trump revolution, the Times and WAPO daily pour calumny and invective onto Trump, his aides and cabinet picks and the millions of Americans that voted for him. Instead of simply accepting the election results and moving on, the Times and WAPO are behaving as if letting ordinary Americans have a say in their own lives is the worst thing that ever happened to the country.